Latest Supreme Court ruling…..

Posted on July 2, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

scotusMuch of the country’s attention has been on the United States Supreme Court’s rulings on marriage equality and the Affordable Care Act last week, but the nation’s highest court also handed down an important housing decision that looks at whether a public or private entity can get hit with a federal Fair Housing lawsuit even if it had no intent to discriminate. The legal concept is called disparate impact and, ever since the federal Fair Housing Act was enacted in 1968, all federal courts of appeal have interpreted the law to mean an entity can get sued for housing discrimination if its actions have a disparate impact on a protected class, regardless of intent.

In its decision last week, the Supreme Court affirmed a circuit court’s judgement, holding that disparate impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act, and are an important component to the Fair Housing Act’s role in moving the country toward a more integrated society. “Residents and policy­makers have come to rely on the availability of disparate-impact claims,” the court says in its decision to the case, Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc.

Importantly, the court made clear that just because an action has a disparate impact, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily discriminatory. All the facts in the case have to be looked at, and a plaintiff must be able to point to a specific policy (or policies) of the defendant that is causing the disparity, and even then the defendant can demonstrate that the challenged policy is necessary to achieve a legitimate business interest. Only where the plaintiff can demonstrate that there is an alternative practice that would serve the defendant’s legitimate interest with a less discriminatory effect will a disparate impact claim be established.

FHFor NAR members, since the decision upholds what’s been a longstanding legal concept, there should be little change seen on the ground. What’s more, since the decision includes extensive discussion about the many factors that should be considered when looking at a disparate impact claim, the court appears sensitive to the kinds of concerns that were identified by real estate professionals in a working group NAR created several years ago to look at the disparate impact issue.

In that group, two main concerns were identified: that real estate professionals and others not be held liable for actions if they had no reasonable way of knowing that a disparate impact would be the outcome, and that real estate professionals not be expected to do extensive research into the possible disparate impact of their actions.

“I believe there is much in the decision that reflects an understanding of the type of concerns that NAR members shared in the disparate impact working group and reflected in NAR policy,” says Fred Underwood, NAR’s director of diversity and community outreach programs.

For real estate professionals, the decision means ending housing discrimination remains a national goal and it also affirms that one doesn’t have to intend to discriminate to be the subject of a lawsuit. But it also means disparate impact claims must pass a reasonable hurdle, because the court recognized many factors go into the decisions that shape our housing markets.

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5 Ways to have a Happy Retirement

Posted on July 1, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Hammock underneath palm trees

Sure, a fat nest egg and good health help. But there are less obvious ways to make sure your post-work life is a happy one.

Retirement ought to be a happy time. You can set your own schedule, take long vacations, and start spending all the money you’ve been saving.

And for many retirees that holds true. According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, people tend to start life happy, only to see their sense of well-being decline in adulthood. No surprise there: Working long hours, raising a family, and saving for the future are high-stress pursuits.

Once you reach age 65, though, happiness picks up again, not peaking until age 85. In a recent survey of MONEY readers, 48% retirees reported being happier in retirement than expected; only 7% were disappointed.

How can you make sure you follow this blissful pattern? Financial security helps. And good health is crucial: In a recent survey 81% of retirees cited it as the most important ingredient for a happy retirement. Some of the other triggers are less obvious. Here’s what you can do to make your retirement a happy one.

1. Create a predictable paycheck. No doubt about it: More money makes you happier. Once you amass a comfortable nest egg, though, the effect weakens, says financial planner Wes Moss. For his recent book, You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think: The 5 Money Secrets of the Happiest Retirees, Moss surveyed 1,400 retirees in 46 states. The happiest ones had the highest net worths, but Moss found that money’s power to boost your mood diminished after $550,000.

“Once you reach a certain level, more money doesn’t buy a lot more happiness,” says Moss. Similar research based on the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study found a dropoff in happiness with extreme wealth; after you’ve amassed some $3.5 million in riches, more money doesn’t increase your happiness as much.

Where your income comes from is just as important as how much savings you have, says Moss. Retirees with a predictable income—a pension, say, or rental properties—get more enjoyment from spending those dollars than they do using money from a 401(k) or an IRA.

Similarly, a Towers Watson happiness survey found that retirees who rely mostly on investments had the highest financial anxiety. Almost a third of retirees who get less than 25% of their income from a pension or annuity were worried about their financial future; of those who receive 50% or more of their income from such a predictable source, just under a quarter expressed the same anxiety.

You can engineer a steady income by buying an immediate fixed annuity. According to InsurancePricedRight.com, a 65-year-old man who puts $100,000 into an immediate annuity today would collect about $500 a month throughout retirement.

2. Stick with what you know. People who work past 65 are happier than their fully retired peers—with a big asterisk. If you have no choice but to work, the results are the opposite. On a scale of 1 to 10, seniors who voluntarily pick up part-time work rate their happiness a 6.5 on average; that drops to 4.4 for those who are forced to take a part-time job.

The benefit of working isn’t just financial. It’s also a boon to your health—a key driver of retirement happiness. The physical activity and social connections a job provides are a good antidote to an unhealthy sedentary and lonely lifestyle, says medical doctor turned financial planner.

A 2009 study published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology found that retirees with part-time or temporary jobs have fewer major diseases, including high blood pressure and heart disease, than those who stop working altogether, even after factoring in their pre-retirement health.

Switching careers in retirement, though, isn’t as beneficial. Retirees who take jobs in their field reported the best mental health, says lead researcher Yujie Zhan of Canada’s Laurier University, perhaps because adapting to a new work environment and duties is stressful.

3. Find four hobbies. Busy retirees tend to be happier. But just how active do you have to be? Moss has put a number on it. He found that the happiest retirees engage in three to four activities regularly; the least happy, only one or two. “The happy retiree group had extraordinarily busy schedules,” he says. “I call it hobbies on steroids.”

For the biggest boost to your happiness, pick a hobby that’s social. The top pursuits of the happiest retirees include volunteering, travel, and golf; for the unhappiest, they’re reading, hunting, fishing, and writing. “The happiest people don’t do things in isolation,” says Moss.

That’s no surprise when you consider that people 65 and older get far more enjoyment out of socializing than younger people do.

4. Rent late in life. In retirement, as in your working years, owning a home brings you more joy than renting does. But as time goes on, that changes. Michael Finke, a professor of retirement and personal financial planning at Texas Tech University, analyzed the satisfaction of homeowners vs. that of renters from age 20 to 90-plus and found a drop late in life, particularly after homeowners hit their eighties.

The hassles of homeownership build as you age, Finke notes, and a house can be isolating. Most people want to stay put in retirement. Yet, says Finke, “you need to plan for a transition to living in an environment with more social interaction and less home responsibility.”

5. Keep your kids at arm’s length. Once you suddenly have a lot more time on your hands, your closest relationships can have a big impact on your mood. According to an analysis by Finke and Texas Tech researcher Nhat Hoang Ho, married retirees, particularly those who retire around the same time, report higher satisfaction than nonmarrieds—but only if the couple get along well. A poor relationship more than erases the positive effects of being married.

Children don’t make much of a difference, with one twist. Living within 10 miles of their kids leaves retirees less happy. “People overestimate the amount of satisfaction they get from their kids,” says Finke. The reason is unclear—could being a too accessible babysitter be the problem?

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Underfunding retirement adds to workers’ stress

Posted on June 30, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies
Photo: AP 

More than half of lower and middle-income women who juggle work and motherhood say they carry high or overwhelming levels of financial stress, according to data from a provider of workplace financial wellness programs.

That’s significantly higher than stress levels across all demographics and earning levels, as 18 percent of all workers reported high levels of stress, and another 5 percent said they feel overwhelming stress.

Stress levels varied dramatically relative to demographics, but one consistency was that women reported higher levels of stress than men in all age groups, according to Financial Finesse’s 2015 workplace stress report.

While many factors contribute to stress levels, the data shows a clear correlation between the most stressed workers and their ability to address retirement savings.

Women feel more stress during retirement than men do, a recent study shows. However, women suffer more from stress before…

Wellness scores were assessed on eight different areas of financial preparedness, ranging from cash management, debt management, investing, and including retirement planning.

Those with high or overwhelming stress levels reported poor wellness scores on retirement savings. The data shows that as the most stressed workers struggle to manage everything from debt to taxes.

In 2014, three in 10 workers reporting overwhelming stress said they were not contributing at all to employer-sponsored savings programs.

When the most stressed workers can contribute, four in 10 aren’t deferring enough cash to capture the employer match.

Those numbers support auto enrollment and escalation features, say researchers from the Southern California-based firm.

Even workers who report no financial stress are reluctant to use a retirement calculator to factor how much of their income they are on pace to replace in retirement.

Only 40 percent of those without any stress have used a financial calculator, a bit more than the 30 percent of the most stressed workers who have.

Not surprisingly, only 4 percent of the most stressed workers say they are on track to replace 80 percent of income in retirement, an aggressive goal. Even though those with stress overwhelmingly contribute enough to retirement plans to meet employer-matching requirements, only 33 percent say they are on a path to replace 80 percent of income.

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Toronto – HOT Luxury Real Estate Market

Posted on June 29, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Toronto ranked world’s hottest luxury real estate market with 37% surge in high-end property sales

Christie's study finds Toronto has the fastest growing luxury real estate market in the world. This Bridle Path estate, which was listed for $23 million, has eight bedrooms, 14 bathrooms and a ballroom.

Concierge AuctionsChristie’s study finds Toronto has the fastest growing luxury real estate market in the world. This Bridle Path estate, which was listed for $23 million, has eight bedrooms, 14 bathrooms and a ballroom.

Toronto was ranked the world’s hottest luxury real estate market in a new report that shows US$100 million is the new benchmark for prime properties.

Compared with these two housing hot beds, Vancouver, the most expensive market in the country, and Toronto are seen as low risk even as average home prices soar past $1.4 million.

Demand for mega-mansions and penthouses has accelerated as wealthy buyers seek havens for their cash and search for alternative investments such as art and collectible real estate, according to the report Thursday by Christie’s International Real Estate, owned by auction house Christie’s.

While Toronto ranked 10th on the report’s luxury index overall it was first on the luxury thermometer as the only top city to see a 37 per cent increase in luxury home sales in 2014 compared to just four per cent the previous year.

“2014 was the Toronto market’s second-best year on record,” said Justine Deluce of Chestnut Park Real Estate. “If there had been more inventory, the record would easily have been shattered.”

The report said that low supply of homes in Toronto has pushed prices to $1–$2 million for relatively average homes in the city and up to $2–$4 million for larger homes or those in the most desirable neighbourhoods. The shortage of homes pushed luxury condo prices above $1 million as well in 2014.

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Getting EXPOSURE from your website

Posted on June 28, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies
Your website can’t do its job without visitors. You need to market this powerful marketing tool. Here’s how.
Your website can’t do its job without visitors. You need to market this powerful marketing tool. Here’s how.

According to InvestmentNews’ 2014 Financial Performance Study of Advisory Firms, 65 percent of advisors consider their website their top marketing tool. And, in fact, when searching for an advisor, prospects use the Internet more often than any other method. When we polled more than a thousand advisors, however, we found that 67 percent were dissatisfied with their existing websites. So how do you turn a website you don’t like into your top marketing tool?

The first step. You first need to know what a website’s for and how it works. As social media marketer Victor Gaxiola notes in InvestmentNews, most advisors have seriously outdated, “Web 1.0” websites. The reason for this is partly a gap in knowledge about websites. If you build it, they may not necessarily come. If no one knows about your website, it can’t be an effective marketing tool.

You must market your #1 marketing tool. It’s helpful to think of your website as an extension of you. In effect, your website is your placeholder, your mouthpiece, a stand-in that advocates on your behalf. It’s how people know your services are better than the competition’s. Understanding this is the first step toward turning your website into the hot marketing tool you need it to be.

What’s next? Because you want to put your best Internet foot forward, it’s time to makeover your website. A good website considers the entire user experience. How quickly does it load? How visually appealing and easy to navigate is the design? How well written and informative is the content? How good does it look on a mobile device? Ensuring that you can answer all these questions with “very” is good search-engine optimization practice. Good SEO leads to a higher ranking, a higher ranking gets more views, and more views results in an even higher ranking. So marketing your website enables it to be a better marketing tool.

What else? Now that you’ve got a great-looking, optimized website, it’s time to get it out there:

Start with the basics. Mention your website to prospects during cold calls. This gives them the opportunity to do research on you after you’ve finished speaking. Include it in your email signature. Provide a link in your monthly newsletter and mention any new website content in it. Order new business cards that include your website address.

Get social. Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter—figure out where your demographic is and make sure your website is there, too.

Be influential. Don’t just tell people you’re a good advisor, show them. Start a blog or contribute articles to other sites in order to share your wealth of knowledge. Found an interesting article online? Add your sage comment. Contribute to a LinkedIn group or start your own. Just remember that wherever your name goes on the Internet, your website address should follow.

Your website absolutely is the hot marketing tool you want it to be. But a great tool can only work if you know how to use it.

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Owning vs. Renting

Posted on June 24, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

How Much Money Will I Save by Owning a home?

There is a lot of debate about if you save money by owning a home. I see some Investment Pros argue that if you put all your housing money into other investments you would make more money. What these “Geniuses” never seem to consider is that you have to live somewhere. Yes we all have to move out of our parents basement sometime and that generally means rent! Unless you have put yourself in a position to buy.

You will not save any money by not buying a home (unless you live in your Do you want to Own a Home

parents basement or other similar arrangement). So all that money you are saving for the stock market, bonds, silver, gold, or commemorative plates, will end up going to rent.

If you have extra money I can see where the argument can be made for any of these investments (although real estate is still the best – Ask Me Why!), but before you can invest you need a place to live.

If you are renting you should call me and we can run the calculator on your situation, but here is what I find:

  1. The people I am seeing buy homes now end up paying less for their home (Yes a home they own) than they were paying in rent.
  2. If they are not paying less, after taking the tax deduction on the interest they are. Often the home is a better home too.
  3. Most home mortgage are fixed rate and tax increases on real property are severely limited by law in California. What does this mean? It means your housing cost is fixed (probably for 30 years.)
  4. Rents go up. I do not know of any rents that have gone down over time.
  5. By buying a home you are fixing your housing cost in place.
  6. If you put a 20% down payment on a $500,000.00 home you have $100,000.00 of equity in the home. If home values go up an average of 4% a year (more right now) your money is earning 20% a year. (Can the stock market top that long term?) And Remember you can buy with a lot less than 20% down; sometimes nothing.
  7. If prices should go down your house payment is fixed, in most cases people can ride it out till the housing market bounces back (and it always does).
  8. If you should experience financial hardship and have trouble with housing expenses you are generally safer in a home you own than a rented property. There are more tools and techniques for getting back on track and it is a longer process to get you out of the house.
  9. If you die in a rented property the property gets sold to someone else. If you owned it your heirs have money for your final expenses and you leave them something.
  10. If you own a home when you retire you may not have a house payment. If you need money you can continue to live in it with a reverse mortgage and it will provide you income.

Owning a home is one of the wisest things you can do for financial security and your future. Owning a home now is better than owning a home later. There are many great programs for owning a home with little or nothing down. There is even a 5% rebate program on home purchases with some of the new lending programs.

Talk to us about how you can own a home now!

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10 worst U.S. places to retire

Posted on June 14, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

New York, New York, it’s a hell of a town, says the song. And it’s captured the dubious distinction of being named the worst city to retire in by Bankrate.com’s inaugural ranking of American cities.

However, Connecticut had the sad dishonor of landing not one, but two metro areas in the bottom 10—and that state had the largest presence on this list. In fact, the whole Northeast took 6 out of 10 spots on this bottom 10 list. Notice, too, that there are no Florida cities on this list at all.

In deciding which cities drew top honors and which drew catcalls, Bankrate considered everything from the quality of health care to the weather, financial factors including tax rates and cost of living, and whether people could walk to get where they needed to go. In addition, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being index contributed yet another metric: a specialized wellness score for seniors.

Looking for a retirement home? Better check this list of top 10 retiree-friendly states before you move–you might even find…

Of course Bankrate didn’t look at every single city in the U.S., although its initial list numbered in the thousands. But when those cities lacking data on the critical factors named above were eliminated, that left 196. Then neighboring municipalities that shared almost identical characteristics were combined with their neighbors, so the final list numbered 172. Fittingly, New York starts off the list, the worst at 172 out of 172.

Now, here for your delectation, are the 10 worst places to retire in the U.S.

NYC
10. New York, New York (172/172)
You might be able to walk anywhere in New York, what with its “great” walkability and low crime rate, but that’s a mixed blessing—since the cost of living is so very high you probably couldn’t ride there anyway, and if you got mugged the mugger probably wouldn’t get much. Taxes are rated very high, too, although for all that money health care is rated below average. So is the weather, but of course cost has nothing to do with that—unless you’re trying to keep warm or stay cool. The city’s well-being index is below average, too, which is a shame considering all the things to do in New York. Oh, wait. They cost money.

9. Little Rock (including North Little Rock and Conway), Arkansas (171/172)

Oh, Little Rock. What can we say? An average cost of living is not so bad, but from there it’s all downhill. Below-average walkability, below-average weather, very high crime rate, a poor well-being index, high taxes, and below-average health care just don’t make a very pretty picture, despite the gorgeous scenery outside town.

Yale Campus in New Haven
8. New Haven (including Milford, Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Stamford), Connecticut (170/172)Very high cost of living, very high taxes, a high crime rate, and below-average weather will make you not want to take advantage of this metro area’s great walkability. That’s a pity, because not-walking undoubtedly contributes to its poor well-being index. And health care here is only average. Not a standout choice, despite its proximity to Long Island Sound—but no doubt that’s part of the reason it’s so expensive.

7. Buffalo (including Rochester, Niagara Falls, and Cheektowaga), New York (169/172)

These metropolises have great walkability, but considering the below-average weather it’s not a great selling point. Not to mention that a high crime rate might make one reluctant to venture out into that snowstorm to get to the mall. Below-average health care isn’t a selling point, either, nor are the very high taxes. Oddly enough, an average cost of living might not be so bad—but overall, this area ranks below average in well-being.

Woman knitting at a park in Newark NJ
6. Newark, New Jersey (168/172)Very high taxes, very high cost of living, high crime. These don’t make great walkability, Newark’s best attraction on this list, seem like such an advantage. Add to that average health care, coupled with below-average weather and a below-average well-being score, and you might want to consider other places before planning to retire here. After all, New Jersey does have beaches, too–just not here.

5. Albany (including Troy and Schenectady), New York (167/172)

High crimes and—oh, wait, wrong story. Anyway, high crime rate, high cost of living, and very high taxes, not to mention snow, await the brave soul venturing to these municipalities in upstate New York. While the walkability of these various cities is good, health care is below average—as is the weather (snow, lots of it) and the well-being score.

Oakland view of bridges
4. Hartford (including East and West Hartford), Connecticut (166/172)Whoever said Connecticut could be pricey must have been thinking not just of spot number 170 on the list, but also this one. The Hartford area has a very high cost of living and very high taxes, a high crime rate, and only average health care. It does have great walkability, but that’s not so attractive in its below-average weather. Still, it did garner an average rating on the well-being index.

3. Oakland, California (165/172)

One might wonder what Oakland is doing on this list, since it has great walkability, a good well-being score, and good weather. But, alas, it also has a very high cost of living, very high taxes, a very high crime rate, and below-average health care. Sad but true. So if you retire here, you’ll have to mix the margaritas at home.

Downtown Cleveland
2. Indianapolis, Indiana (164/17It seems as if many of these cities score highly in multiple areas—even if that’s not so good—or score low in multiple areas, again, even if that’s not so good. Indianapolis is one of the latter. While its cost of living is low, its walkability is below average—a good thing, considering its very high crime rate—and both health care and weather are also below average. Average taxes and an average score on the well-being index round things off.

1. Cleveland, Ohio (163/172)

An average cost of living and average taxes in this city makes Cleveland more affordable than many others on this list. Its health care is average, too, but its well-being index is below average. It has good walkability, but a very high crime rate, so they kind of cancel one another out. And then there’s the weather, which is below average and not conducive to sipping piña coladas under the stars.

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What happens when the seller won’t make repairs?

Posted on June 2, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Every month we are asked questions about Real Estate. Here is the most recent question:

Q. I made an offer on a home, and an inspector found several things that need to be repaired that weren’t listed on the seller’s disclosure. The seller refuses to make the repairs. Doesn’t he have to?

A. No. A professional inspection will often reveal items in need of repair that the seller didn’t know about. When that happens, you can propose an amendment to the contract requesting that the seller make specific repairs. However, the seller is not obligated to accept the amendment to make repairs.

If he does not accept the amendment, and if your contract includes a termination option, you have the right to terminate the contract prior to the option period’s expiration date.

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Plano Texas – #1 Most Affordable Place to Live……..

Posted on June 1, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Life is expensive. That’s true just about everywhere, but just how expensive varies widely. In Kodiak, Alaska, a Coca-Cola costs almost $2.50, while the same soda in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, averages $1.30. This difference illustrates the wide variation in cost for almost everything in the U.S. — from groceries to housing.

To find the top places for affordability, NerdWallet investigated price variations to assess where a dollar stretches the furthest in the U.S.

Not surprisingly, data on median income from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey revealed that many of the cheapest places in the U.S. are also where residents earn the least. In our study, we make a distinction between “cheap” and “affordable” by comparing a place’s median income with its cost of living to find truly affordable places.

Key findings

Wealthier places are more affordable. Despite a higher cost of living, the gains from a higher median income in wealthier places are more than the increased cost of living there.

Cost of living is clustered. Sure, there are outliers like New York City, New York, and Honolulu, Hawaii, where the cost of living is 122 percent and 74 percent above the U.S. average respectively, but the cost of living in most places is within a small range around the national average.

Within a place, costs can be diverse. Just because a place is affordable in one category, such as groceries, doesn’t mean the same is true for housing or utilities. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the cost of utilities is 11 percent below the U.S. average, but groceries and housing are above the national average.

Relationship between income and cost of living

Our data show that higher-income areas tend to be more expensive, but how much more expensive? For example, in San Francisco, California, the median household income is $74,559, an impressive 43 percent higher than the national median of $52,176. But the cost of living for San Francisco residents is almost 67 percent higher than average, much more than the area’s income advantage.

Our study found similar trends for other well-to-do places such as Washington, D.C., and Seattle, Washington, where higher incomes are paired with a higher cost of living.

However, there are places where higher incomes aren’t offset by a more expensive cost of living. In this way, for example, a place such as Scottsdale, Arizona, might be more affordable than Tucson, Arizona.

In Scottsdale, the cost of living is 14 percent higher than the U.S. average, while in Tucson it is 3 percent below the average. However, the median income in Tucson is 31 percent below the national median while Scottsdale’s is 34 percent above. In this case, the data reveal why people in Scottsdale are doing better than Tucson residents.

As it turns out, the relationship between the cost of living index and the income index in the places we analyzed isn’t one to one, which means in many cities where the income index is higher, the cost of living index isn’t as high. This allows some wealthier places in our study an advantage when it comes to affordability because the cost of living remains relatively lower.

Data highlights

We calculated the percentage difference in the cost of items based on data from over 300 U.S. metropolitan areas.

A T-bone steak, at an average of $8.48 in Olympia, Washington, for a 12-ounce to 24-ounce cut, is cheaper than it would be in 99.7 percent of the places surveyed, according to our data.

In Juneau, Alaska, a pound of bananas costs $0.88 on average, which is more expensive than in 98.5 percent of other places.

A six-pack of Heineken in Omaha, Nebraska, is $7.43 — cheaper than it would be in 99.3 percent of places.

People in 88 percent of the places in our study will pay more for a phone line than those in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where the average landline is $22.91 a month.

A haircut in a Scottsdale, Arizona, salon costs $54.88, more expensive than 97 percent of the other places.

In Tracy, California, it costs $8.89 to dry-clean a men’s two-piece suit — a cheaper price than in 93.5 percent of the other places.

A bottle of white wine in Round Rock, Texas, costs about $5.16, which is less than 98.7 percent of the other places in our survey.

Methodology

To assess a place’s cost, we used the Council for Community and Economic Research’s 2014 cost of living index.

We compared this index with an index we created for income using the median household income from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Places with the biggest difference between the income index and the cost of living index were ranked favorably as the most affordable places.

ca

10. Tracy, California

Median household income: $73,559

Income index: 141

Cost of living index: 124

Grocery index: 120

Housing index: 159

Utilities index: 107

Transportation index: 113

Health care index: 105

Goods and services index: 106

ak

9. Anchorage, Alaska

Median household income: $76,159

Income index: 146

Cost of living index: 128

Grocery index: 123

Housing index: 157

Utilities index: 97

Transportation index: 105

Health care index: 140

Goods and services index: 122

nm

8. Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Median household income: $58,281

Income index: 112

Cost of living index: 92

Grocery index: 95

Housing index: 77

Utilities index: 89

Transportation index: 101

Health care index: 97

Goods and services index: 101

az

7. Scottsdale, Arizona

Median household income: $70,078

Income index: 134

Cost of living index: 114

Grocery index: 104

Housing index: 143

Utilities index: 92

Transportation index: 102

Health care index: 102

Goods and services index: 105

sc

6. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Median household income: $67,643

Income index: 129

Cost of living index: 106

Grocery index: 112

Housing index: 108

Utilities index: 103

Transportation index: 97

Health care index: 105

Goods and services index: 107

tx

5. Midland, Texas

Median household income: $63, 819

Income index: 122

Cost of living index: 97

Grocery index: 91

Housing index: 97

Utilities index: 92

Transportation index: 102

Health care index: 97

Goods and services index: 99

ak

4. Juneau, Alaska

Median household income: $84,415

Income index: 162

Cost of living index: 132

Grocery index: 129

Housing index: 158

Utilities index: 146

Transportation index: 109

Health care index: 150

Goods and services index: 113

tx

3. Round Rock, Texas

Median household income: $68,959

Income index: 132

Cost of living index: 94

Grocery index: 87

Housing index: 89

Utilities index: 95

Transportation index: 95

Health care index: 106

Goods and services index: 100

oklahoma

2. Edmond, Oklahoma

Median household income: $71,607

Income index: 137

Cost of living index: 96

Grocery index: 88

Housing index: 94

Utilities index: 101

Transportation index: 99

Health care index: 95

Goods and services index: 97

tx

1. Plano, Texas

Median household income: $81,800

Income index: 157

Cost of living index: 99

Grocery index: 100

Housing index: 90

Utilities index: 102

Transportation index: 101

Health care index: 105

Goods and services index: 104

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Will these houses sell faster ?

Posted on May 31, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

We live in a world of duality. Where there is dark, there is light. Where there is hot, there is cold. Where there are genius DIY projects… there are the polar opposite. Here’s a quick review of some of the most notorious (and often downright idiotic) home design examples we have picture evidence of. At least it’s more humor for the rest of us!

A refrigerator island, because who needs space?

When you need that middle ground between a bath and a shower.

This is for the bathroom reserved for guests you don’t really like.

Yes, this is a staircase. Did someone take out a life insurance policy?

Looking to get sued? Must be a favorite pastime with these people.

The floor is giving me vertigo.

“Honey, trespassers are now a thing of the past. Can you grab me another beer and the remote?”

Notice the phone and thermostat up top? Obviously this is Spiderman’s secret abode.

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